Newsletter
The SHRM 2010 ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION featured more than 150 breakout sessions featuring leading experts speaking on some of the most important HR topics, including talent management, legislative compliance, strategic HR practices, and global HR issues.
Twenty-five of these experts received a speaker rating of 4.8 or higher (out of 5), making an exclusive list of SHRM's Top Rated speakers.
Kevin Cope's Building Business Acumen session almost made this list… just kidding! He made the list.
Here's the list… SHRM's Top Rated Speakers PDF
And we're not shy, here's a scanned copy of Kevin's scores and attendee comments… Kevin's Scores & Feedback
Keep in mind that Kevin doesn't throw out stuffed carrots and talk about soft skills like positive thinking or inspiring creativity. He's taking the subject of business acumen head on - a subject that most folks shy away from. So what is it about Kevin's approach to finance that gets an HR person to comment, "Best session of the conference!"
There's likely a lot of answers, but as I sat and listened to the boss-man give his spill, it struck me that financial conversations are too often reserved for the c-suite, and such a mentality creates a culture of exclusion. It must be refreshing for an attendee to be brought in on an intelligent dialogue about the inner-workings of business, to be regarded as a business person first, and an HR professional second.
One last observation, the room was full of HR professionals of varying degrees of experience. Surly some were well versed in the language of finance and could have easily walked us through their company's latest financial results. Others would likely never admit this to their boss, but they find financial conversations painfully intimidating. But it's interesting that the scores and feedback were universally kick-butt positive. Nobody made the comment that the material was too basic, and nobody said the material was over their head. I think this is a clear indication that Acumen Learning is onto something! Our approach to business acumen is unique and different from other ideas out there. It's an approach that resonates with business people who want to make a difference within their sphere of responsibility.